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International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

International Viewpoint, the monthly English-language magazine of the Fourth International, is a window to radical alternatives world-wide, carrying reports, analysis and debates from all corners of the globe. Correspondents in over 50 countries report on popular struggles, and the debates that are shaping the left of tomorrow.

The following statement by a large coalition of Latin American and Caribbean educators was first published at Otras Voces en Educación, an independent site dedicated to developing critical theory for educational change. Translated by No Borders News.

Ukraine received its independence 29 years ago. The cause of political independence has always been close to the struggle for the social liberation of Ukrainians, particularly the country’s rebellious workers and peasants. The right of nations to self-determination was originally the slogan of the socialists Ivan Franko and Lesia Ukrainka.

The protests against police violence that have been sparked by the police lynching of George Floyd have now entered their second week and have involved hundreds of thousands of mostly youthful, often multiracial protestors in large and small cities throughout the country.

While restaurants, bars and pizzerias reopen, and the Confindustria employers’ organization and the leaders of the FCA (formerly Fiat) claim, even more cynically than usual and despite the harshness of the times, the right to reap profits counted in billions and tax gifts, a new wind - even if it is a light one - seems to be blowing among the workers.

In recent days, a discourse favourable to the opening of schools has been building from the left. The slogan, formulated imperatively, is ambiguous. So much so that at the same time that although it is an immediate demand, what is proposed to achieve it is very long-lasting. From Roger Palà to Ada Colau, through Jordi Muñoz, a series of ideas have been launched in this direction. Let’s go through them bit by bit and see the possibilities and weaknesses of the proposal. It should be said in advance that despite the responsive tone of this text, the intention is to put on the table all those elements that have not been considered in terms of reopening schools. Basically, maintaining and enriching the dialogue started.

Recently posted Debate

The imperial president of the United States, Donald Trump issued a statement on 11/08/17 in which he threatened the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela with military intervention and promised to oust President Nicolás Maduro. This coarse and threatening statement has been rejected by all the countries of the world and most of their governments.

A group of individuals and organisation in June signed a first Joint Decelaration for the statement in Castilian to condemn imperialist and media aggression against Venezuela, to reject the coup policy from the rightwing in the MUD and affirm the election of a national constituent assembly was the best way to ensure the participation of the workers’ and popular movements in the crisis. This time they have come together to congratulate the Venezuelan people for their massive civic participation on Sunday 30 July. 5 August 2017

Boaventura de Souza Santos, the Portuguese academic and activist, was a leading figure in the anti-globalization movement in the early years of this century. He has been a strong, if critical, supporter of Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution. Earlier this year, he caused some controversy when he signed a declaration launched by a group of left intellectuals from Argentina, which was very critical of the Venezuelan government.

Since late April, Dmitriy Tsarenko (aka Morozov), one of the leaders of the Russian Socialist Movement’s branch in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, has been under increasing pressure from the state apparatus—in particular, from the Interior Ministry’s “Center for Combating Extremism,” often wielded by the authorities against political opponents. On May 15th, the police attempted to charge him with an arson attack on the office of Russia’s ruling United Russia party, and on May 18th, Dmitriy was officially charged with on the ridiculous offense of “justifying terrorism” in connection with a speech he gave at a protest in March. There, Morozov demanded that antifascists jailed as part of the Network Case, which was fabricated by the secret police, be freed. Breaking this article of the Russian Criminal Code can carry a sentence of up to three years.

In support of Anthony Smith, laid off for asking a company to introduce preventive measures in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, 1052 officials of the Ministry of Labour reaffirm the importance of their public service mission. They demand the withdrawal of the disciplinary procedure and that their independence is respected: “We will not allow the labour inspectorate to be destroyed”.

Radical Socialist is greatly alarmed at the death of 11 people, including a six-year-old girl, and more than a thousand people affected after styrene monomer gas leaked from a chemical plant belonging to LG Polymers at RR Venkatapuram in Visakhapatnam on May 7, 2020. Around 350 people are hospitalised till now. This gas leak has directly affected an area over a radius of about three kilometres. At least five villages within this radius have been severely affected. According to experts, styrene is a neuro-toxin and inhalation leads to immobilisation and eventual death in ten minutes.

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